Brayyyy-cing for winter

Stuck on a fencepost?  Nahhh.  Just scratchin' my chin.  

I had no meetings to cover tonight for the newspaper, so I took advantage of the last couple of hours of daylight to take a walk and check on the critters.  With the cold moving in, I may be avoiding evening strolls for a few days.  

Down in the pasture, one of the first sights I see is the cow above, looking like she's got a fence post rammed through her jaw.  But then she turned her head, and it became obvious that she was just scratchin' her chin.  

Our sweet little donkey herd came to greet me.  The two jennies, now about two months old, are growing so fast.  They don't allow me to pet them much, but their mommas sure love attention.  I need to remind myself to take the babies a treat...a carrot stick or slice of pear or something.  

My guess is, the way to a jenny's heart is through her stomach! 

Works for me, anyway.

Our dog, Honey, plays this little game with the young jennies. She chases them around and around, then they chase her.  She's not at all aggressive with them, just playful.  They seem to enjoy the game too. 

Leaving our little asses to their hay, I sauntered on down to the creek and took note of how black the water is.  Despite some recent rains, the creek is still very low.  With all the leaves dropping into it, the tannins in the leaves turn the water black. I always wonder if that is harmful to the fish and other creek life.   Hopefully not.  But it makes for an interesting sight. 

My hubby placed the hay rings close to this lone tree in the field, in hopes that it might provide a bit of a wind break for the animals.    

I'm so dreading the cold for our livestock, who have nowhere to go to warm up.  Sure, they can go to the barn, and it might knock off a little wind.  Still, it's not what you'd call warm in there, not when the temperatures are in the teens and twenties.  

We are still waiting on two of our donkeys to give birth.  

It would be just like 'em to give birth after the temperature drops 50 degrees, the hubs and I agreed. 

Livestock are notorious for giving birth in the worst possible conditions.  I hope the gals can put off birthing at least until the rain passes.  

Being cold is bad enough, but cold and wet?!  Brrrr....